Many foods tend to spatter grease and other particles when being cooked on a stove-top burner. The spattered particles can travel considerable distances (especially when frying or cooking at relatively high temperature), and wall or appliance surfaces adjacent the stove soon become soiled and require frequent cleaning if permanent staining and discoloration of the surfaces are to be avoided.
The use of solid metal sheets or panels to intercept spattered particles is known, but these devices have not been fully satisfactory for several reasons. A significant drawback of solid panels is that spattered material tends to accumulate and run down the panel, spreading the greasy material and quickly leading to an enlarged and messy dust-catching surface. Grease may also run off the bottom of the solid panel to soil the stove or floor.
Another problem with solid panels is that they are awkward and difficult to clean thoroughly, and in time acquire a stained appearance which cannot be corrected in spite of vigorous scrubbing. This kind of staining is often seen on refrigerator sidewalls adjacent stoves and unprotected by a spatter shield. Solid panels are of course also opaque, and in some installations may undesirably limit the view of surfaces behind the panel.
The spatter shield of this invention uses a conventional screen of the type used for window screening. I have found that a relatively fine metal screen is highly effective in trapping and holding spattered particles, but is very easy to clean by immersion in soapy water. The screen does not tend to acquire the unattractive stained appearance of a solid panel, and is lighter and easier to position than a solid metal sheet. Visibility of objects behind the screen is preserved because the screen is nearly transparent.
My invention also contemplates the use of several alternative mounting systems for supporting the screen on a stove. One system uses a frame with a set of brackets configured to fit over the stove edge and under a top panel which is fitted around the burners on most conventional stoves. The screen makes a sliding fit in the frame to be retractable out of the way alongside the stove when spattering foods are not being cooked. A fitting such as a magnetic latch is used to hold the screen in an elevated position during cooking.
Another mounting system is especially useful when no space is available alongside the stove to permit retraction of the screen. This configuration uses a frame which is attached to the top surface of the stove by suction cups or a similar mounting means. The screen seats in the frame during cooking, but is completely removable for cleaning or storage when not needed to protect surfaces adjacent the stove.
A third configuration is configured for installation on a generally horizontal countertop panel which supports a countertop stove. The screen frame is fully concealed in this version, and only the very top of the screen is visible when the screen is retracted.